08/28/2026
🏡 Attention Home Owners 🏡
Taking a few simple steps to protect your septic system now can help you prevent costly repairs, clogs, and unnecessary expenses down the road.
🚽 “Flushable” wipes including any type of baby wipes
Even if the package says flushable, they do not break down quickly enough and can contribute to clogs and septic problems. Baby wipes are made to stay strong when they are wet. The only thing that should be flushed is toilet paper and human waste.
💅🏽 Feminine products and hygiene wipes
They absorb liquid and expand instead of breaking down like toilet paper. Often made from durable fibres that don’t break down easily. This includes tampons, pads, panty liners, and personal hygiene wipes.
🧻 Paper towels, napkins, facial tissues
These do not break down like toilet paper and can cause blockages. Even tissues that feel soft can take much longer to break down. Put them in the garbage instead.
🐱 Cat litter
Can create clogs and add solids the septic system isn’t designed to handle. Even litter advertised as flushable should not be flushed, as it can also introduce additional solids and potentially harmful material into the septic system.
🦷 Teeth floss and Hair
Neither break down at a septic-safe speed and can tangle around pumps and moving parts. They can also collect other debris and contribute to blockages.
🍳 Grease & cooking oil
Can solidify and build up in pipes and the septic tank. Even when poured down with hot water, grease eventually cools and can stick to the inside of pipes. Allow grease and oil to cool and dispose of them in the garbage.
🧤 Gloves & other plastics
Won’t break down and can cause serious blockages. This includes plastic bags, wrappers, condoms, latex products, and other plastic or rubber items.
🚬 Cigarette butts and medications
Don’t belong in the septic system and contain chemicals that can contaminate groundwater. Medications should be returned to a pharmacy for proper disposal, and cigarette butts belong in the garbage.
🚫 Simple rule to remember
If it isn’t toilet paper or human waste, DON’T flush it.
And for sinks, showers, and other drains: if it can clog a pipe, kill septic bacteria, or contaminate groundwater, keep it out of the drain.